Funny you should mention Marxism. Carl Marx believed that the people should be armed. Lenin did too, until the time came that they might be turned on him.
Exactly. "In order for a full-blown tyranny to take hold, the people must first be disarmed," Sir William Blackwell
Yes, it transforms the right to keep and bear arms into the privilege of doing so "during good behavior." The "during good behavior" part is the arbitrary component, depending on the definition of "good behavior" according to whoever is pulling the trigger on it. Once the trigger is pulled, due process is out the window, because the way it's set up, judges merely become rubber stamps under the "better safe than sorry" rationale.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety," Benjamin Franklin
But you have to look back at why the mental institutions were shuttered. When the courts decided it was unconstitutional to hold or medicate anyone against their will, who had broken no law, society left it to the mentally ill to decide if they wanted or needed to be institutionalized. So I think there you have it backwards, the mentally ill aren’t all over the streets because the institutions were shuttered, they were shuttered because the mentally ill started choosing to not attend.
Respectfully, I disagree. I don't have to look back at why mental institutions were shuttered, I know why. Mental institutions were shuttered as a direct result of the Progressive Machine/PC Brigade's involvement. Certainly, most mentally deficient individuals opt not to be medicated - they are mentally deficient - and as such, are not fit to make these decisions for themselves. Many of these mentally impaired people do not have families or relatives at all, no one who can be relied upon to make such decisions on their behalf. Previously, in such cases, these people became wards of the State. Furthermore, society did not leave the mentally ill to decide for themselves whether or not they wanted to be medicated or institutionalized; rather, it was and is a direct result of the Federal Gov't., the State's and law enforcement's inability to provide proper care for these people - it is the de facto state as determined by the current limitations. The Federal and State role in mental health is quite clear in providing care and services for these individuals, but they are hamstrung as a result of mental hospital closures nationwide.
